This invention relates to tandem or inline roller skates which are particularly suitable for playing hockey. Hockey has long been a popular game on ice and, of course, hockey players are most familiar with ice skates and the particular type of ice skate used in playing hockey. Such hockey ice skates provide a great deal of maneuverability to permit a skater to change directions and stop frequently. This is in contrast with the normal recreational ice skating as well as the normal recreational roller skating. Inline roller skates have been developed primarily for recreational use although inline roller skates have been used for playing hockey for over 20 years; see, for instance, U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,441 for a Tandem Roller Hockey Skate.
During the long history of inline hockey skates many changes have been made but in all instances the inline hockey skate is substantially different from the ice hockey skate due principally to the natural differences between the thin blade of the ice skate as opposed to the rollers required for the inline skate. One substantial difference is the weight of the skate. The inline skate, even today after more than 20 years of improvement, is approximately 65% heavier than an ice skate of the same size and general boot construction. Moreover, the inline hockey skates developed to date are constructed such that the soles of the skater's feet are positioned much higher from the skating surface than is the case with the ice skates. Ice skates normally position the sole of the boot only about 6 cm above the ice whereas the inline hockey skate places the sole approximately 8 cm above the skating surface. This is due to the fact that the wheels for inline hockey skates normally have a 72 to 80 mm tread diameter.
Ice hockey skates also differ from most roller skates in that the blade is normally ground to a curvature having a radius of about 3 meters so as to provide what is generally known as a "rocker." Such a rocker curved shape permits the skater to tip his foot forward or backward to a moderate extent and still maintain the same contact with the ice. This has been accomplished only somewhat with inline hockey skates to date wherein three to five wheels are employed and positioned at two different levels from the sole of the boot. Such an arrangement permits the skater to set the sole of his foot at any of three different angles with the skating surface. One such configuration is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,470. In other arrangements, the various inline wheels are placed on pivoting carriages which likewise permits three possible angles with the skating surface. Such a construction is offered by BMR Manufacturing which calls the arrangement a "floating rocker system."
Another important difference between ice hockey skates and inline hockey skates is the manner and ability of stopping. In ice skating the skater ordinarily comes to a quick stop by shifting the blade of his skates to a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement and lean back thereby providing sufficiently high friction scraping to come to a quick stop. With inline skates the usual manner of stopping is to use a brake snubber on the heel or toe of the boot to provide braking friction while the skate is still directed in the line of movement. Even so, many users of inline hockey skates attempt to stop in the ice skating manner using not only the normal roller blade wheels but also more spherically shaped wheels such as skates offered by RollerBall International, Inc. of Los Angeles, Calif. Other forms of braking have also been considered and tried such as hand operated application of friction on the wheels themselves.